Peterson Joins Local Office of Jackson Lewis LLP

Jackson Lewis is one of the country’s largest and fastest-growing workplace law firms.

Peterson has served as an assistant dean and adjunct professor at the University of Alabama School of Law. She’s also worked as an associate in Clifford Chance LLP’s corporate finance and restructuring groups, in addition to being a summer associate for McDermott Will & Emery LLP’s antitrust and government regulatory practice.

– Andy Meek

Government: $4.25 Billion Recovered in Probing Health Care Fraud

The government says it recovered almost $8 for each dollar it spent investigating health care fraud over the past three years, including a record $4.2 billion last year.

The $7.90 average return on investment is the highest in the 16-year history of the Health Care Fraud and Abuse Program. Since 1997, the program — a joint effort of the departments of Justice and Health and Human Services — has returned more than $23 billion to the Medicare trust funds.

Overall, the Justice Department opened more than 1,100 criminal health care fraud investigations last year involving 2,148 potential defendants. More than 800 defendants were convicted of health care fraud-related crimes during the year and the department opened nearly 900 new civil investigations.

– The Associated Press

UT Will Update Decade-Old Agritourism Survey

With agritourism taking root at farms across the state, the University of Tennessee Extension’s Center for Profitable Agriculture is updating a decade-old survey on the industry.

The 2003 survey included responses from 48 percent of Tennessee’s agriculture operations.

The Center for Profitable Agriculture’s Megan Bruch told the Chattanooga Times Free Press (http://bit.ly/12FYzd0) that 68 percent of respondents included agritourism in their operations.

Many farmers earned $25,000 or less a year from their agritourism operations, but 15 percent made more than $100,000. At the time, total projected revenue from agritourism was more than $21 million.

Bruch said updating the survey will help quantify agritourism’s standing in Tennessee. She expects to see larger numbers for visitors and sales.

Farmer Andrew Dixon said he’s already filled out his survey and sent it in.

His family’s Grandaddy’s Farm in Estill Springs opened to the public seven years ago.

“Agritourism, basically, is another crop for us,” Dixon said. “We’ve got corn, wheat and soybeans as our main row-crop operation, and agritourism is another way for us to diversify and to help spread out our risk.”

Each fall, people come to the farm for tours, a produce market, a nature trail, hay rides, mazes, tractor-tire swings and a farm-oriented playground, he said. The contact with the public brings in funds and also helps to market the farm’s products.

– The Associated Press

Oil Dips Slightly as Asia Observes Lunar New Year

The price of oil dipped slightly toward $95 a barrel on Monday as investors cut back on speculative positions and most Asian markets were closed for a holiday.

By early afternoon in Europe, the benchmark oil contract for March delivery was down 30 cents to $95.42 a barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract fell 11 cents on Friday.

Trading was expected to be light for much of the week with several Asian markets shut for the Lunar New Year.

Analysts noted that for the first time in eight weeks there was a net reduction in investors’ positions betting that the Nymex contract will continue to advance.